Duluth Bargaining

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Essentia, Home, Hospitals

By Laura Sayles

MNA Government Affairs Specialist

 

Last Tuesday, MNA nurses staged informational pickets at Essentia St. Mary’s and St. Luke’s hospitals in Duluth.  The nurses that work at those hospitals have been working without a contract since June of this year.  They’ve been in negotiations with management but because they were unable to make headway to come to a solution that works for nurses and the hospital management, nurses want patients to know the nurses’ contract affects the care they receive.

 

MNA nurses made the decision to stage an informational picket when they felt that their voices weren’t being heard in negotiations. 
… Read more about: The Power of Collective Action: Duluth Informational Pickets  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Essentia, Home, Nursing

By Mathew Keller RN, JD

Mathew Keller, RN JD Regulatory and Policy Nursing SpecialistMathew Keller, RN JD Regulatory and Policy Nursing SpecialistMathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

Limousine service, upgraded television sets, nurse/patient “scripts,” gourmet food service, nurse uniform requirements – hospitals all over the U.S. are offering more “customer-centric” patient care in order to increase patient satisfaction scores, which are becoming more and more important for Medicare reimbursements.

These efforts often have unintended consequences.

In the first place, customer-centric interventions rarely (if ever) improve the quality of care patients receive: rather, they merely improve patients’ perceptions of care.
… Read more about: Essentia Health: Listen to your nurses  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Home, Press Releases

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

(Duluth) – June 17, 2017 – MNA nurses at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth ratified a new contract on June 16.

Nurses voted for a three-year contract that includes wage increases, improvements to retirement benefits, and incentives to ensure enough nurses are scheduled to provide safe patient care.

“We negotiated a fair contract that recognizes the important work nurses do,” MNA St. Luke’s Bargaining Unit Chair Cindy Prout said. “We hope Essentia Health will join St.
… Read more about: Press Release: MNA nurses ratify contract with St. Luke’s Hospital  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Uncategorized, Unsafe Staffing

First there was the crowd.  Then there were the signs.  Then there were the red uniforms that adorned every man, woman, and child in the auditorium.  The scene was set for a champion sports team to walk in the room, but this huge crowd was there to see the contract negotiators.  When they entered the room, more than 225 nurses and their families cheered and applauded to show solidarity with their elected bargaining team at the Essentia-St. Mary’s contract talks and bid good morning to management’s team.  In the end, nurses won an agreement with management they could say is the result of  hard work by the negotiating team, but also because nurses showed Essentia that nurses are united and strong.
… Read more about: Crowd of Nurses Support Essentia Bargaining Team; Tentative Agreement Won in 33 Hr. Marathon  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

St. Luke’s nurses approved a new contract they won after coming to a one-day, wage-only focused negotiations showing they were ready to bargain together after three years of strong member engagement.   The strength of the nurses was apparent even at breakfast.

A hearty “Good morning!” was echoed more than 150 times as Duluth nurses turned out in force in the early morning to welcome St. Luke’s Hospital negotiators to the bargaining table.  They saw nurses from St. Luke’s and from competitor Essentia St. Mary’s as well as their friends, families, fellow union members, and even kids in an impressive display of red filling the hotel hallways. 
… Read more about: Show of Strength in Duluth Wins Nurses New Contract  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Healthcare, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING
Tentative Agreement for St. Lukes Nurses in Duluth   The Minnesota Nurses Association announced late Tuesday that Duluth nurses came to a tentative contract agreement with St. Luke’s hospital that would raise wages 4.5 percent. The three-year agreement would go into effect in July and run into June 2016.  View pictures of the great solidarity action  and a video of MNA’s powerful opening statement

Alarm Fatigue Puts Patients at Risk    The Joint Commission issued a “sentinel event alert” to hospitals, saying that the problem of “alarm fatigue” can jeopardize patients, and it urged hospitals “to take a focused look at this serious patient safety issue.’”  Watch MNA President Linda Hamilton’s interview on Fox 9 News.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 10, 2013: Tentative agreement for Duluth RNs; Alarm fatigue puts patients at risk  »

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In: Bargaining, Duluth Bargaining, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

Incredible show of solidarity as 150 nurses, family members, and fellow union members greet the St. Luke’s bargaining team prior to negotiations. Then, an emotional message from about the importance to respect nurses by offering them a fair offer for their continued hard work under short-staffed situations.
… Read more about: Support and solidarity for Duluth nurses prior to contract talks  »

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In: Duluth Bargaining

Today was our seventh bargaining session with management of SMDC.

We  were able to share specifics with how safe staffing affects us and our patients. Management responded in full to all of our proposals other than economic. Their answer to pretty much everything we proposed was “No” or “We are not interested.”

Duluth RNs: Now is our time to get the same staffing language Twin City nurses have that helps them directly to advocate best for  patients.

One of our proposals would require management to pay for 15-minute breaks when we are unable to take them. If no nurse took 15-minute breaks that we are supposed to get, it would save the hospital $3,259,815 – the equivalent of 43 FTE’s.
… Read more about: Duluth Bargaining – SMDC Update (July 27)  »